Diegoaelurus

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Diegoaelurus
Temporal range: 46.2–39.7 
Ma
 middle Eocene
Holotype of Diegoaelurus vanvalkenburghae, (SDSNH 38343)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: †Oxyaenodonta
Family: †Oxyaenidae
Subfamily: †Machaeroidinae
Genus: †Diegoaelurus
Zack, Poust, & Wagner, 2022
Type species
Diegoaelurus vanvalkenburghae
Zack, Poust, & Wagner, 2022
A map showing the fossil finds of
D. vanvalkenburghae as well as other machaeroidinid genera.

Diegoaelurus ("San Diego's cat") is an

extinct genus of placental mammals from extinct the subfamily Machaeroidinae within extinct family Oxyaenidae. This genus contains only one species Diegoaelurus vanvalkenburghae, which was found in the Santiago Formation in California. This mammal lived during the Uintan stage of the Middle Eocene Epoch around 46.2 to 39.7 million years ago.[1][2]

Etymology

The name of genus Diegoaelurus comes from city

Ancient Greek αἴλουρος (aílouros-) 'cat'. Diegoaelurus vanvalkenburghae was named after Dr. Blaire Van Valkenburgh in honor of her research on carnivorous mammals and saber-toothed predator paleoecology.[1]

Discovery

The holotype fossils were discovered in

decades in a museum until 2022 when the fossils were described and recognised as a new genus and species.[1][3] This creature is so far the only North American species of Machaeroidinae known outside of Utah and Wyoming.[1] According to a paper on the creature, ''The present study highlights how poorly documented the machaeroidine fossil record remains''.[1]

Description

pathological
or it could have happened well antemortem.
An illustration of the skull and head of D. vanvalkenburghae with part of the skull based on Machaeroides eothen

Diegoaelurus vanvalkenburghae was small in stature, with a size comparable to a fossa.[3] The holotype fossils (SDSNH 38343) consists of a mandible and well preserved dentition.[1] Its discovery has made paleontologists question whether this group's extinction was caused due to the large faunal turnover at the end of the Eocene.[1] This creature as well as its subfamily were some of the first predatory saber toothed mammals to have evolved, 30 million years before the Machairodontinae (saber-toothed cats) evolved in the Miocene.[1][4] Due to the lack of remains, there is questioning to these animals ecological niches.[1] However, there are good remains from Machaeroides eothen which support a hypercarnivorus lifestyle for the group.[1] D. vanvalkenburghae is actually the latest surviving member of its subfamily.[1]

Classification

The phylogenetic relationships of genus Diegoaelurus are shown in the following cladogram:[1]

Machaeroidinae

Machaeroides simpsoni

Machaeroides eothen

Diegoaelurus vanvalkenburghae

Apataelurus pishigouensis

Apataelurus kayi

Extinction

Main article: Eocene–Oligocene extinction event

Diegoaelurus along with all the members of its

Artiodacytyls as well as the Erinaceids (hedgehogs).[8] It seems once the Oxyaenids went extinct their ecological nice was filled in by the Nimravids, a family of saber-toothed mammals that belonged to the group Feliformia.[1][9][10][11]

References

  1. ^
    PMID 35310159
    .
  2. ^ Sofia Quaglia (March 15, 2022). "A new saber-toothed mammal was among the first hypercarnivores". Science News.
  3. ^ a b "Paleontologists discover new San Diego saber-toothed catlike species". Los Angeles Times. 2022.
  4. ^ "Not all saber-toothed animals were predators, fossils reveal". National Geographic. 2020. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021.
  5. S2CID 4408282
    .
  6. ISSN 1944-9186
    .
  7. doi:10.1016/0031-0182(86)90008-8
    .
  8. S2CID 140576090
    .
  9. ^ Diegoaelurus in the Paleobiology Database
  10. ^ "Meet the Cat Family". Junior Observer. The Sunday Observer. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Associated Newspapers of Ceylon. July 16, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  11. ISBN 978-0-19-923445-5
    .
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